STOCKTON - The thump of a hammer pounding nails into a wall echoed through the shop. Will Ray, an inmate at Deuel Vocational Institution, was creating a shadow board to hang work tools.

The warehouse is being transformed into a learning facility where inmates, such as Ray, will receive hands-on vocational training and national certification.

Participation is expected to increase as the prison continues transitioning from primarily a reception center - it processes newly convicted inmates before sending them to a prison where they will serve their time - back to primarily serving as a vocational institution for inmates to learn a trade while they serve their sentences.

California's prison system remains in flux as state officials deal with a federal court order to produce a plan that cuts prison population by 10,000. Gov. Brown was expected to release his plan by midnight Thursday outlining how he planned to meet that goal.

Prisons already have shed thousands of inmates in a process called "realignment," by switching more than a year ago responsibility of certain felony offenders to county corrections. The state has fallen short by 10,000 prisoners, however, of the court's order.

Deuel's plan to switch back to its original mission is slower than expected because of the high number of new convictions, said Acting Warden Jerome Price, who recently was appointed to the position.

Reception center population currently is 1,352. The mainline population is at 984. Deuel's goal was to reduce the number of reception inmates to 449, and to have 1,274 beds designated for those assigned to be housed at Deuel.

"The wardens, we get on task with the governor's direction," Price said. "As a department, we come together and come up with strategies to reduce the population and to comply with the court order."

Nevertheless, Deuel officials said realignment has freed up beds in overburdened prisons and allowed more access to rehabilitation programs, such as the job training.

"Normally, if you don't have anything to do or anything for them to get excited about, they get in trouble," said Steve Seeman, vice principal of the vocational programs at Deuel.

Ray, for example, tries to stay focused on maintenance projects he is assigned through the vocational program, such as building maintenance class.

The prison will be launching an auto body training course in about two weeks.

A program for heating, ventilation and air conditioning installation and repair began in February.

"We do much more hands-on than some colleges," said Tom Melton, the instructor who formerly facilitated HVAC classes at California State Prison, Solano. Inmates go through a strict program for 18 months, six-and-a-half hours per day, five days a week, and go through five textbooks, he said. They learn about home and commercial heating and ventilation, as well as commercial freezing and refrigeration systems.

"A lot of them find jobs after this program," Melton said, drawing on his experience at Solano.

A fourth program to get running at Deuel is a six-week computer course, in which inmates are learning the basics of Microsoft programs Word, Excel and Power Point.

"Everything we do out there (outside of prison) has to do with a computer," said instructor Carol Pimentel. "For the guys, if they learn the basics, they won't be afraid to use computers and they can move forward."

Ommar Gonzalez, 26, was figuring out how to make a spreadsheet, changing the row height and calculating numbers for a budget.

"This is the first time I work with something like this," Gonzalez said. "I'm actually really learning.

"To tell you the truth, I don't even want to leave from here sometimes."

Some of Pimentel's graduates don't have to wait for release. Deuel is placing them in jobs within the prison as clerks, librarians and office assistants.

Richard Mahony, 53, will likely never be released. He is serving a life sentence, but he is able to put his skills to work as an assistant to Pimentel tutoring students in computer literacy.